Race's Kid
by Thepopcornpup
Summary: "'Lemme tell ya, the key to sellin' lotsa papes is findin' the right people to sell to. You know, like, your crowd.' Race examined the boy for a second, then continued, 'I bet you could sell to girls. They'll think you're cute.' 'That's 'cause I am cute.' The boy answered quickly, straight-faced." (Race and Romeo brotherly fluff) (One-Shot)
**Author's Note: Hey there!** **This story was originally published in a collection of one-shots, but I decided that I preferred to publish my one-shots separately. :)**

 **So, this story is just basically a huge load of Race and Romeo brotherly fluff, because I'm a sucker for Race and Romeo brotherly fluff. Hopefully, you are too.**

 **I hope you enjoy it! If you're feeling nice, I'd love a review! And, of you've got them, prompts are more than welcome. Thanks for reading!**

 **Oh, and I haven't added a disclaimer yet. I'm really bad at remembering to do that. Let's just say that, if I owned Newsies, the tour would not be ending in October. It would be ending (Katherine voice) six months from NEVER!**

* * *

A lot of Newsies were found the same way. Lost, usually dirty, and alone, wandering some street in New York. That's how Race found "his new kid", as everyone referred to the boy. He hadn't been able to sleep, so he was taking a late night walk when he found the dark-haired, freckled little boy sitting outside a bakery, crying. With no questions asked, Race held out his hand and pulled him up. He led him to the Lodging House wordlessly. The next day, everyone asked who he was, to which Race just shrugged and responded, " I dunno. I just found the kid."

So, everyone called the boy "Race's kid."

Race's kid didn't talk much. He just stared at the other boys with his wide brown eyes, feeling intimidated. He sold alone, and he came back to the Lodging House each day looking disappointed. No one was really sure where this boy was from or what his story was, and no one was really sure how to ask. Whenever someone did try and ask, he'd answer shortly and quietly, then find some way to change the subject. Race didn't like this.

One day, Race spotted the boy walking around with a bag stuffed with that day's edition of The World, looking kind of lost.

"Hey, kid," Race approached him, hands in his pockets. "How're you doin'?"

The boy looked up at Race. "Alright, I guess."

"You guess?" Race asked, clearly not satisfied by this answer. "How many papes have you sold today?"

The boy shrugged, a slight blush coming over his very freckled face.

"Have you sold any?" Race questioned.

"Yes," The boy answered quickly, feeling defensive. "'Course I have."

"Well, how many, then?" Race crossed his arms.

The boy frowned. Looking at his feet, he mumbled, "One." After a moment, he added, "But, I almost sold another one. But, the guy I was sellin' to was called away by his wife or somethin'. He woulda bought it, though, so technically, I'se sold two."

Race nodded slowly, then said, "Hey, listen, kid. I know you'se got it in ya. You just need some tips. You wanna sell with me today?"

The boy's eyes lit up, which immeadietly caused a smile to cross Race's face. "You can sell with other people?" The boy asked brightly.

Race chuckled. "Of course, you can! I even go down to Brooklyn sometimes and sell with my buddy, Spot."

The boy smirked. "Alright, then. Yeah, I wanna sell with you."

"Cool," Race grinned, putting his arm around the boy's shoulder. "Now, then, lemme tell ya, the key to sellin' lotsa papes is findin' the right people to sell to. You know, like, your crowd."

The boy nodded, taking in Race's every word.

Race pointed at a sharply dressed man walking past. "For example, you don't wanna sell to stuffy businessmen like him. They don't give ya a minute of their time. They act like they's too good for ya, you know?"

The boy nodded again, looking Race straight in the eye.

Race examined the boy for a second, then continued, "I bet you could sell to girls. They'll think you're cute."

"That's 'cause I am cute." The boy answered quickly, straight-faced. After a pause, though, he cracked a small grin.

Race chuckled. "Don't get a big head now, kid." He teased, ruffling the boy's already-messy ebony mop. Then, he spotted a young woman passing by in a nice dress. "Ooh, quick, kid!" Race exclaimed. "Try her!"

The boy gave Race a nervous look."But, I-"

"Go!" Race pushed the kid forward. "Specs'll beat you to her if you don't hurry up, and they always buy from the kid with glasses!"

"Why?"

"I dunno, they just do! Now, go!"

The boy scurried up to the woman. She noticed him, and, unsure what else to do, he bowed. Mid-bow, he glanced up and saw that she was smiling. He smirked back and, drawing himself up, asked, "Care for a pape,miss?"

The woman giggled. "Sure!"

The boy's eyes lit up again. As the woman reached for her change, he turned around and gave Race a surprised smile. Race gave him a double-thumbs-up in return.

When he turned back, the young woman placed the coins in the boy's hands. He grinned at her and said, "Why, thank you, ma'am!"

"Here, I'll buy one, too!"

The boy turned and saw another young woman approaching him with a handful of coins. "May I have one, too?"

The boy smiled. "Sure thing, beautiful!" He responded.

The girl laughed and bought the paper.

As the two young woman walked away, the boy called after them, "Why, thank you, ladies!"

Race walked up and patted his back. "Would ya look at that?"

The boy grinned at Race. "I just sold to two ladies!" He exclaimed. "And pretty ones, too!"

Race laughed. "We oughta be callin' you Romeo now, huh?"

Specs walked up to them then, smiling. "Hey, Race! How're you and...your kid doin'?"

"I'm Romeo!" The boy exclaimed, holding his hand out to Specs. Then, his eyes darted to another young lady tossing the street and he added, "Ooh, I'll be right back! I gotta get this girl a pape!"

Specs chuckled and turned to Race. "He finally came out of his shell?"

Race laughed. "Sure did. And, I think I just accidentally named him."

Romeo came running back to them, a wide smile on his face. "I sold another pape, Race! That's four whole papes! And, three pretty girls!"

"Nice one, Romeo!" He responded. Then, he leaned down and whispered, "Soon, you'se gonna be givin' Jack Kelly a run for his money!"

Jack, who happened to be passing by at the moment,whipped his head towards them and asked, "What'd you just say?"

Specs, Race and Romeo all giggled and answered simultaneously, "Nothing!"

At the end of the day, both Race and Romeo had sold all of their newspapers, much to their delight. (Romeo, of course, had sold most of his papes to pretty girls.) As they walked back to the Lodging House, laughing and joking the whole way, Romeo suddenly said, "Hey, Race? Thank you."

"For what?" Race asked.

"For bringin' me home with you the other night," Romeo explained, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Of course, kid," Race replied, running his hand through his mess of blonde curls. "What did you think I was goin' to do, leave you there cryin'?"

Romeo's face heated up. "That's what most folks did."

"Well, most folks is idiots," Race said firmly. "We Newsies are smart. Except the ones that steal my cigars in the morning." He looked at Romeo sharply and said, "You'se gotta be a real stupid fella to mess with me in the morning."

Romeo chuckled. After it faded, he became serious again. "Hey, Race," He muttered. "You wanna know why I was bein' so quiet?"

"Why?" Race asked, stopping in his tracks. He knew this was important.

"I ain't got any folks no more," Romeo confessed, in almost a whisper. "And, I dunno what to do without 'em." His voice broke. "I thought I was gonna die on that street, Racetrack. That's what they say happens to kids livin' on the streets."

He suddenly started crying and he buried himself in Race's shoulders. Startled, Race paused for as second and then hugged him. But, then he hugged him as tight as he could. "Hey, sshhh," He whispered. "It's okay. It's alright now, kid."

"I'm scared," Romeo said through tears. "I don't even know why, Race."

"That's okay," Race assured. "That's okay. We all are."

"Even you?" Romeo asked, sniffing.

"Heck yeah," Race replied. "I'm always scared. Scared that I won't sell enough papes every day. Scared I won't get any food. Scared of the Refuge. But, hey, you know what?"

"What?"

"I made it this far," Race said. "You can, too, I promise."

Romeo pulled away and smiled shakily. "Thanks, Race. Sorry 'bout that. I shouldn't have just...started sobbin' out of nowhere." He said this last part with a blush.

"Hey, it's fine," Race assured. "But, I got somethin' else to tell ya, too."

"What's that?" Romeo asked.

"You know how you said you don't got folks?"

Romeo nodded.

"Well, you're wrong. You got the Newsies. We ain't a mother and a father. We're actually just a bunch of idiots running around a Lodging House shoutin' and stealin' each other's cigars."

Romeo giggled.

"But, we're your folks now, Romeo," Race said. "We named you, so we keep you. You're stuck with us, kid. Is that alright?"

Romeo smiled broadly. "Definitely."


End file.
